ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Election Commission
CEO Flags off Howrah Express
Kolkata, April 9, 2019
The Chief Electoral Officer  of West Bengal, Dr Aariz Aftab flagged off 12833/12834 Howrah Express of South Eastern Railway Zone on Monday  night from Howrah station. The train running between Ahmedabad and Howrah covers a distance of 2,087 kms. The train carries voter awareness messages in the outer parts of its body with, the photo of both national and State icon. It is to be mentioned that Saina Nehwal is the national icon for the General election, 2019, whereas Jeeja Ghosh, the disability activist is the icon for West Bengal. The messages are written both in Hindi and English.
The train is a superfast express train and takes 37 hours 35 minutes to reach Ahmedabad covering six States with 63 stops. The States covered include Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Some of the major stations are Surat, Jalgaon Junction, Akola, Nagpur, Durg, Bilaspur Junction, Champa, Raigarh, Jharsuguda Junction, Rourkela, Chakradharpur, Tatanagar, Kharagpur and Santragachhi. There are 17 stops in the way with the stoppage of five minutes or more. As the train travels across these six States, people will be encouraged to click a photograph with the train and upload it on social media for further spreading the message of voter awareness.
Meanwhile, voter awareness audio-visual messages are now regularly displayed in the platforms of Metro Rail as well as some of the malls of the city.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Special Focus by the Department of Agricultural Research and Education on ‘Special Campaign 2.0 on Swachhta and reducing pendency in Government’
113 Institutes and over 700 Krishi Vigyan Kendras  of ICAR take part in ‘Special Campaign 2.0’
Rs.40.00 lakhs revenue generated by the disposal of office scrap during this Special Campaign
The Government of India has announced Special Campaign 2.0 from 2nd to 31st October, 2022, with a focus on “Swachhata  and reducing pendency in Government”.
During the Special Campaign, various activities were undertaken by the Department of Agricultural Research and Education  and its autonomous body viz. Indian Council of Agricultural Research . ICAR has 113 Institutes and over 700 Krishi Vigyan Kendras  across the country. During this Special Campaign, attention is given to the field/outstation offices of DARE/ ICAR.
Krishi Vigyan Kendra , Ranga Reddy District, Telangana
Review by Sh V. Srinivas, IAS, Secretary, DARPG, GoI
The Krishi Vigyan Kendras  have taken part in various activities in the thematic areas viz. Adoption of villages for Microbial based Agricultural Waste Management using Vermicompost; Awareness programme about Swachhta; Crop Residue Management; Demonstration of technologies on waste and wealth; Cleaning of villages programme with farmers; Orientation of school children on various topics like hygiene, sanitation, cleanliness; Cleaning of offices and campus and disposal of scraps etc.
KVK Bharari, Jhansi - Taking Swachhta Pledge
The salient achievements during this month’s special campaign are: -
- More than 1,200 villages were adopted by KVKs for promoting “agricultural waste management using vermicompost technology” with the participation of more than 38,000 participants.
KVK, Namakkal - Training on crop residue recycling using vermicomposting
KVK Ambala - Training programme on vermicomposting
- Participation of over 91,000 persons in the Swachhta awareness programme.
- About 980 activities related to “Crop Residue Management” were conducted by the KVKs involving more than 35,000 participants of which about 28000 were farmers.
- About 960 activities were conducted by KVKs for the demonstration of technologies on waste to wealth. More than 22,000 persons participated in these activities.
- The activity of cleaning the villages was taken up in more than 1800 villages with the participation of more than 38,000 participants which includes school children, farmers and other members of the society.
KVK Kamrup - Awareness programme on Swachhta
- About 28,000 school children were oriented on various topics like hygiene, sanitation and cleanliness through more than 790 activities.
- More than 8,000 staff members of KVKs were involved in the cleaning of offices, and disposal of scraps through around 2290 different activities.
- Revenue to the tune of Rs.40.00 lakhs has been generated by the disposal of office scrap during this Special Campaign.
Ministry of Minority Affairs
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi offers “Chadar” on behalf of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Rajasthan on the occasion of 810thUrs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s philosophy, vision and culture of Sufi-Saints and his commitment to Inclusive Empowerment is the “effective mantra” to make India “Vishwa Guru”: Shri Naqvi
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today offered “Chadar” on behalf of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan on the occasion of 810thUrs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Shri Naqvi read out the message of the Prime Minister in which he conveyed greetings and best wishes to followers of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in India and abroad on the occasion of annual Urs.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his message said, "Congratulations and warm wishes to followers of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti across the world on his 810thUrs. By offering “Chadar” to Ajmer Sharif, I pay homage to the Great Sufi Saint, who gave the message of humanity to the entire world. Unity in Diversity is the identity of India. Harmonious co-existence of various sects, communities and beliefs in the country is our strength.”
Shri Narendra Modi in his message said, “The great Saints, Mahatmas, Pir, Fakirs have played a pivotal role in strengthening the socio-cultural fabric of the country in different periods. In this glorious tradition, the name of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, who gave the message of love and harmony to the society, is taken with full respect and reverence".
The Prime Minister in his message further said that, "The philosophy and principles of Garib Nawaz will continue to inspire the generations to come. Urs, the symbol of harmony and brotherhood, will further strengthen the faith of the devotees. With this belief, on the occasion of annual Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Dargah Ajmer Sharif, I pray for the country's happiness and prosperity.”
People from all sections of the society welcomed wholeheartedly the “Chadar” offered by the Prime Minister.
On the occasion, Shri Naqvi said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s philosophy, vision and culture of Sufi-Saints and his commitment to Inclusive Empowerment is the “effective mantra” to make India “Vishwa Guru”.
The Minister said that today the entire world is looking towards Shri Modi as a “torchbearer of peace” with hope and confidence. This is the result of the blessings of these Sufi Saints and the support of the society to Shri Modi.
Shri Naqvi stated that the life of Gharib Nawaz inspires us to strengthen the commitment to communal and social harmony. This unity can defeat the forces, who are engaged in the conspiracy to create divide and conflict in the society. The teachings of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is the effective message of peace across the world and India’s culture and commitment.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs
NESTS, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and CBSE launched second batch of Experiential Learning for 21st Century Programme for EMRS school principals and teachers in collaboration with TATA trusts, TISS and MGIS
The 8-week professional development training programme targets to include 300 teachers from EMRSs
NESTS, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and CBSE in collaboration with TATA trusts, TISS and MGIS launched Experiential Learning for 21st Century Programme for Eklavya Model Residential School  Principals and Teachers virtually today.
Shri Asit Gopal , Commissioner, National Education Society for Tribal Students , Ministry of Tribal Affairs inaugurated the programme and announced formal launch of course-2 for EMRS teachers & teacher leaders. While addressing the participants, the Commissioner, remarked that the importance of continuous professional development trainings is emphasized in NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY- 2020 which is a landmark policy document. He added “It is believed that this program is unique in the area of experiential learning pedagogy and will be instrumental in advancing the cause of the National Education Policy, 2020 as part of their Continuous Professional Development .”
In first phase, the program was launched on 20th November, 2021 for 350 teachers from CBSE and Eklavya Model Residential Schools located in 6 States, namely Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.
In the second phase, the 8-week professional development training programme is targeted to include 300 teachers from EMRSs across the states including Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana and Uttarakhand besides previously included states.
The Experiential Learning for 21st Century Programme has been conceptualized as an online programme for educators ie teachers and principals to help them adapt classroom learning to real life experiences. The program was offered free of cost to all the selected teachers and principals from November, 2021 till April, 2022. The selected teachers were trained as “Teacher Leaders” who shall be espousing the Experiential Learning Pedagogy to all EMRS teaching fraternity in a phased manner.
The course was curated in consultation with the faculty from TISS and MGIS to incorporate theoretical and practitioner perspectives of experiential learning for teachers. It is an 8 week program covering 4 modules supported with virtual webinars to discuss the teachers’ understandings and assist them along the course learnings. Webinars shall provide further orientation on the pedagogy focusing on project mapping and lesson planning. This course is conceived and will be executed on the lines of the co-creative experiential learning. The journey of the Teachers selected for this course will emulate the learning that we wish the students to experience in their day to day classes, with hands-on activities based on meaningful, real life situations and projects.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Progress of development of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor
The perspective plan for the overall Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Region has been prepared and 24 investment regions and industrial areas have been identified for development. As part of Phase-1 of the DMIC project, following eight investment regions are being taken up for development:
- Dholera Special Investment Region in Gujarat 
- Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Area in Maharashtra 
- Dighi Port Industrial Area in Maharashtra 
- Manesar-Bawal Investment Region in Haryana 
- Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana Investment Region in Rajasthan 
- Jodhpur PaliMarwar Industrial Area in Rajasthan 
- Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow Investment Region in Madhya Pradesh 
- Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment Region in Uttar Pradesh 
All industrial units, except those industries falling under the highly polluting red category zone, are permitted to set up their manufacturing plants. Some of the sectors identified are general manufacturing, auto and auto components, defence manufacturing, Research and Development , IT and ITES, high tech industries, agro and food processing.
100 acres of land in Shendra Industrial Area in Maharashtra have been allotted to a foreign company for setting up manufacturing unit of Spandex.
Estimated employment of direct & indirectlikely to be generated during the next three decades is 2.46 million.
This information was given by the Minister of State of Commerce and Industry, C. R. Chaudhary, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Home Affairs
Shri Rajnath Singh felicitates Jammu & Kashmir sportspersons
Home Minister appeals youth to choose development and not destruction
The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh arrived in Srinagar today on a two-day visit to the state.
In his first program, Shri Rajnath Singh attended the sports conclave in Srinagar. More than 3,000 sportsmen, students and enthusiasts from the three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh participated. The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ms. Mehbooba Mufti and Union Minister of State  of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh and Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba were also present. During the event, Shri Rajnath Singh felicitated prominent sports persons: Parvez Rasool , Manzoor Ahmad Pandav , Mehraj Uddin Wadoo , Real Kashmir Club , Ms Palak Kaur  and Ms Balween Kaur .
In his address, Shri Rajnath Singh said under PMDP program, Rs 200 crores has been sanctioned for development of sports infrastructure in J&K. Under it, Bakshi stadium renovation work has started with allocation of Rs 44 crores and Maulana Azad stadium in Jammu will be developed at a cost of Rs 40 crores. In all 22 districts of J&K, stadiums are under various stages of development at a cost of Rs 88 crores. Water sports infrastructure is being developed in Mansar and Pahalgam at a cost of Rs 6 crores.
Shri Rajnath Singh told the youth that future of not only Jammu and Kashmir, but also the country is in their hands. He said “ummid ka ujala” can happen only with “sports ki karamat” and “taleem ki taqat”. The Home Minister assured that future of J&K youth has always been safeguarded by India and it will remain so in future. Some forces have been trying for many years to mislead the J&K youth. Those forces have no interest in their future. Youth of J&K have same role and contribution in India’s growth and progress just as youth of any other state, he said.
He appealed to them to choose development  and not destruction . If you choose development, state will develop, he said. Please join this development chain and herald in a new dawn in Jammu and Kashmir, he added.
Prime Minister's Office
PM approves ex-gratia for the victims of avalanche in Chamoli, Uttarakhand
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the tragic avalanche caused by a Glacier breach in Chamoli, Uttarakhand.
He has also approved an amount of Rs. 50,000 for those seriously injured.
PMO tweeted, "PM @narendramodi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the tragic avalanche caused by a Glacier breach in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. Rs. 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured."
Ministry of Rural Development
Work Days Guaranteed Under MGNREGS
The details of employment provided to households and expenditure reported by States/UTs in Management Information System  under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS during the last three years and current year  is given at Annexure.
Schedule-I of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005  stipulate the works to be taken up by the State Government under the Scheme of the Act. The Schedule is revised from time to time based on feedback received from the States/UTs and other stakeholders.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Rural Development, Shri Ram Kripal Yadav in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Education
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan addresses the 67th Convocation of IIT Kharagpur, calls for innovation in energy and semiconductor chip manufacturing to give boost to Purvodaya and Aatmanirbhar Bharat
The determination of our new generation, spirit of enterprise & innovation and strength of educational institutions has resulted in India achieving many remarkable feats in the 21st century, including administering more than 130 crore COVID jabs, said Union Education and Skill Development Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan at the 67th Convocation of IIT Kharagpur.
Shri Pradhan said as we celebrate Amrit Mahotsav, he feel privileged to be at the temple of learning, a place where many of our freedom fighters, including the great Jayee Rajguru fought for freedom. IIT Kharagpur has shaped the national discourse and contributed to India’s growth since inception, he added.
The Minister stated that there are more than 50 crore children between the age of 3 and 23 and there is an enormous opportunity in equipping this population with the right education & skills. Critical mindset, qualitative workforce will help India to drive the global economy in the 21st century,he added.
Shri Pradhan expressed that low-cost innovative alternative energy models, innovation in specialised areas of semiconductor chip manufacturing will not only lead to economic empowerment and job creation, it will also lead to Purvodaya and a self-reliant India. He further said that life is unimaginable without ‘Energy & Internet’, a fact further accentuated in the present times. By 2035 India will be the number one energy consumer. India’s climate leadership has resulted in our country having the most conducive alternate energy business climate, he added.
Reiterating Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s call for innovation during the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham, the Minister encouraged the students to ‘Innovate to empower the marginalised’ and to ensure developmental strides in every sphere.
The Minister expressed his confidence that IIT Kharagpur will be the epicentre in adding momentum to the spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and in placing India at the top of the emerging new world order. The intellectual prowess and excellence of students here will make them pioneers of new thought leadership.He extended his best wishes to the students who have graduated today and all the students & distinguished alumni who have received medals and awards.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Small Business for Farmers
The government is implementing various policies/programmes/schemes for the welfare and increasing income of the farmers. It is up to the farmers to set up a business in their own farm land. Farmers can avail assistance under various schemes of the Government such as Agriculture Infrastructure Fund , Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund , Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund , creation of 10000 FPOs, Honey Mission and Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture , for setting up of value addition and processing units near to farm gate to help them improve marketability and market access to their produce. There are many small businesses/ enterprises, farmers can set up in their own farms e.g. Mushroom cultivation, poultry, dairy, fishery, sericulture, nurseries of various crops, seed growing, a variety of horticulture activities, bee keeping, compost making etc. All these activities are covered under various schemes of the government. Farmers, including young farmers, can also set up start- ups under Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana  - RAFTAAR having innovative solutions/ business ideas with assistance from Government. In addition, farmers can avail benefit under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act  for supplementing their incomes.
This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Jal Shakti
Tap Water Connections in Remote Villages
Since August 2019, Government of India in partnership with States is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission  – Har Ghar Jal to make provision of potable water to every rural household of the country by 2024 including those in remote areas, through tap water connection at a service level of 55 litre per capita per day , of prescribed quality , on regular and long-term basis.
At the time of announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission, 3.23 Crore rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, 6.71 Crore households, have been provided with tap water connections in last 35 months. Thus, as of date, out of 19.14 Crore rural households in the country, around 9.94 Crore  households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes and the remaining 9.10 Crore rural households are planned to be covered by 2024. State-wise details of rural households with tap water connections i.e. piped water connection is at Annex-I.
Further, as informed by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, AMRUT was launched on 25 June, 2015 in selected 500 cities across all States/ Union Territories  with focus on providing infrastructure in the sectors of water supply, sewerage and septage management, storm water drainage, non-motorized urban transport, and green spaces and parks. So far, out of target of providing 139 lakh tap connections to achieve universal water supply coverage in the selected cities, 130 lakh household water tap connections have been provided under AMRUT and in convergence with other schemes. State-wise details of household tap connections provided under AMRUT and in convergence with other schemes at given at Annex – II.
Government of India is now implementing AMRUT 2.0 for the period of 05 years , with the objective of providing universal coverage of water supply through functional household tap connections in all statutory towns in the country.
Under JJM for ensuring safe drinking water supply and States/ UTs have been advised to carry out testing of drinking water sources once in year for chemical and physical parameters and twice in a year for bacteriological parameters. To enable States/ UTs to test water samples for water quality, and for sample collection, reporting, monitoring, and surveillance of drinking water sources, an online JJM – Water Quality Management Information System  portal has been developed.
States/ UTs have also been advised to identify and train 5 persons, preferably women, in each village viz. ASHA workers, health workers, VWSC members, teachers, etc. to conduct water quality tests using FTKs/ bacteriological vials at village level and report the same on the portal.
Further, to encourage water quality testing to ensure potable drinking water supply, States/ UTs have been advised to open water quality testing laboratories to public for testing of their water samples at a nominal rate. Also, up to 2% of the allocation to States/ UTs can be utilized for Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance activities.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.